In act two scene two, there is a long monologue from Launcelot. As Shylock’s servant he despises him and refers to him as “the very devil incarnation”, and considers running away from him. This invites sympathy because it appears as harsh; however, it can be inferred that there must be a reason for Launcelot’s hatred of him, and as Shylock’s servant he would know him well. In response to this, Bassanio takes Launcelot to be his servant. This action invites sympathy from the reader, because he has abandoned Shylock, and chosen to serve someone else instead, simply because he hates him.
At the end of this scene, Gratiano insists on accompanying Bassanio to Belmont. This shows a strong friendship, which can invite sympathy for Shylock when contrasted with his lack of such a relationship.
The next scene can also be used to see the ways in which people view Shylock. For example, Jessica, his own daughter, also seems to reject him. This is shown by the line “our house is hell, an thou, a merry devil, didst rob it of some taste of tediousness”, which shows that she felt that because of Shylock, their house was very dull and lacking interest. She then goes on to say “to be ashamed to be my father’s child”. This is an explicit rejection of Shylock, and shows that even his own daughter disliked him. This both invites and rejects sympathy because he is shown to be in an isolated position of dislike, but on the other hand, there must be a reason for this, and the reader had already seen that he isolates himself by his apparent rejection of everyone else too.
Act two scene five, sees Shylock entrust the house to Jessica, saying he goes to supper “not bid for love…but yet I’ll go in hate, to feed upon the prodigal Christian”, which explicitly demonstrated his own religious prejudice and hatred, thus reducing sympathy the reader may feel. However, this is again changed as the scene develops. Jessica decides to leave Shylock to marry Lorenzo, thus converting her religion also, as Lorenzo is a Christian. This is shown by the line “I have a father, you a daughter lost”, which shows that she had completely rejected not only him but also his religion. This is doubly insulting to Shylock, because not only had he lost his daughter, but she is also rejecting his religion to marry one of the people he hates, i.e. a Christian.
This is multiplied in the next scene, when Jessica steals Shylock’s ducats for her and Lorenzo. This invites even more sympathy, because as a businessman, his money will be very important to him, and now he had lost his daughter and his money.
This is extended further with an emotional speech from Shylock concerning his position as a Jew, after hearing about Antonio’s loss of means of repaying him. In it he says, how he has been laughed at because of his losses, mocked because of his gains, “cooled mine friends, and heated mine enemies”, and the reason is because he is a Jew. He goes on to say, “hath a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions...if you prick us, do we not bleed?” This shows that he is deeply upset, and that he feels the subject of strong racial discrimination. However, this sympathy is reduced dramatically by his reaction to Jessica’s theft of his jewels, when he say, “I would my daughter were dead at my foot, and the jewels in her ear”. This shows that he values his money above his daughter, which suggests he feels a lack of emotion, and is very callous and heartless. This makes the reader feel strongly unsympathetic because of his lack of compassion and morality.
However, the most significant scene with regards to the reader’s response to Shylock, is act four, scene one – the court scene. From the outset, it is clear that morally and emotionally. The characters view Shylock as in the wrong. An example of this, is the Duke’s obvious bias towards Antonio, such as when he describes Shylock as “an inhuman wretch, uncapable of pity, void and empty”, which shows that he clearly feels Shylock is in the wrong in moral terms and should pity Antonio. He then goes on to request “the Jew” be called into court. This shows that even he is expressing a racial discrimination, which invites sympathy for Shylock because this prejudice is unfair.
However, Shylock is legally in the right, and the other characters recognise this fact. This is shown such as when Shylock points out the fact that Venice would not be trusted anymore if they ruled against him and therefore their own laws. This power of Shylock’s is made clear by Antonio’s genuine fear of him, which is shown when he says, “I am a tainted wether of the flock, meetest for death”. His acceptance of Shylock’s unquestionable position of authority is significant, because it shows the reader that Shylock is currently in a position where he can choose Antonio’s fate. This chance for him to show compassion and pity is highly important in the reader’s judgement of him and whether to sympathise with him or not. His response of continued insistence that the sentence be carried out invites the reader to be highly critical of him and at this point minimalises all sympathy. For example, when Portia enters, she offers him the chance to show mercy, he replies saying “I crave the law, the penalty and forfeit of my bind”. This shows that he is determined to have Antonio dead, and even relishes the thought of it. This invites the reader to view him without any sympathy.
However, Portia’s clever twist to the case allows the case to be more open. Leading up towards this point, the tension in the play is continually increasing until it is very high. This is because of the conflict between the two sides, and what appears morally right opposed to what appears inevitable. She allows the scene to progress right up until Shylock is about take his cutting, at which point the tension is very high. Her sudden revelation that he had to so this exactly provides a source of hope for Antonio’s survival. As this opposes Shylock’s wishes, this furthermore invites the reader not to sympathise with him. Despite this, some pity is invited with the harshness of his complete loss.
Following the disclosure that Shylock would not be able to have his sentence, his reaction is one without huge resentment, as shown in the line “why then the devil give him good of it. I’ll stay no longer question”. This shows that he accepts the laws of Venice and shall not plead against them. Furthermore, his loss is subsequently increased so that he looses all his possessions. This appears as perhaps too harsh, because, as he says, they have taken the “prop that doth sustain my house, you take my life, when you do take the means by whereby I live”. This shows that not only has his extreme desire not been satisfies, but also in the process he has lost everything that sustains his life. In addition to his previous losses of friends and his daughter, Shylock is now left with nothing, which invites sympathy from the reader because of the huge losses he has incurred. However, the fact that he was given the chance in each situation to prevent the consequences through showing mercy and acceptance, significantly reduces his sympathy.
In conclusion, the reader is invited to feel a large degree of sympathy for Shylock because of the huge losses he appropriates and the fact that a lot of this is based upon racial discriminations and prejudices. However, this sympathy is dramatically reduced due to his reactions to others and the fact that he is given many chances to show understanding, which would have prevented the losses. Furthermore, he is shown to be equally racially prejudiced towards others anyway, which appears hypocritical.
